What’s the fastest way to boost sales from your next email campaign? Offer a discount.
It works, at least in the short term. Open rates jump, clicks surge, orders roll in.
But there’s a hidden cost. Every time you rely on a discount to make a sale, you’re quietly training your audience to wait for the next one. Over time, that chips away at your profit and your brand perception.
The smartest ecommerce brands know how to walk the line, using offers that drive excitement without eating into margins.
In this guide, we’ll unpack how to create email offers that feel irresistible but still protect your bottom line.
Why Discounts Work (and Why They’re Dangerous)
Let’s be honest, discounts are addictive.
For customers, they trigger instant gratification. The thrill of getting more for less. For brands, they deliver fast results. Inboxes light up, conversions spike, and the sales graph shoots upward.
That’s not by accident. Discounts play directly into core psychological triggers like scarcity, urgency, and reward bias. When people see a limited-time deal, their brain releases dopamine. It feels like a win. That’s why a simple “24-hour flash sale” can outperform a beautifully written product story.
But here’s the catch. That same emotional response can work against you over time.
When discounts become predictable, customers start to wait for them. They’ll abandon carts knowing a sale email is coming. They’ll skip full-price items because they’ve been trained to expect 20% off next week.
What started as a short-term sales tactic becomes a long-term habit, one that eats into your profit and erodes your brand’s perceived value.
It’s a balance problem. You need offers strong enough to motivate action, but not so frequent or aggressive that they undermine your positioning.
That’s why smart founders use discounts strategically, not as the story, but as the hook for a bigger one. They time them around product launches, new collections, or brand milestones, and they always have a plan for what happens after the sale ends.
The Long Game: What Sale Periods Are Really For
Too many brands treat discount periods as quick fixes. They see it as a way to clear stock, hit a monthly number, or win back customers who’ve gone quiet.
But the best founders know a sale is more than a short-term bump. It’s actually a moment to build something bigger.
A good sale does three things. It grabs attention, drives action, and teaches you something about your audience.
Maybe your Black Friday sale reveals which products people really care about. Maybe your “End of Summer” offer brings back lapsed customers you can now re-engage. Or maybe your anniversary event shows you what messaging tone hits hardest.
The point is, a sale isn’t just about selling. It’s about learning.
And the brands that win long-term know how to play both games. The one happening now (cash flow, conversions, excitement) and the one happening later (retention, loyalty, predictability). They think in cycles, not spikes.
The Give and Take Theory of Email Offers
So how do you keep that momentum going between sales without constantly discounting?
This is where what I like to call the ‘Give and Take’ approach comes in clutch.
“Give” emails are your relationship builders. They share something useful, inspiring, or entertaining. So that could be a story about your brand, a behind-the-scenes look at a new drop, a quick tip that helps your audience get more from your product. They build trust, and trust is what makes every future sale easier.
“Take” emails are your asks. These are the moments when you lean in and say, Hey, it’s time to buy. A product launch, a limited-time bundle, a 24-hour discount. These are the spikes of energy that drive revenue, but they only work when they’re supported by enough goodwill from your give emails.
The mistake most founders make? They take too often. Every email becomes a pitch, and over time, that drains the list. Engagement drops, unsubscribes rise, and customers tune out, not because your offer was bad, but because it felt expected.
Treat your email offers a little bit more like a healthy relationship of give and take. Give first, take later. Offer guidance before you sell. If your audience learns something or feels something in between the offers, your next “take” will land twice as hard.
How to Build Offers That Feel Generous (But Protect Margins)
Another common myth is that the most effective email offers are always the biggest discounts, but that’s not strictly true. Instead, they’re the ones that feel generous while quietly protecting your bottom line.
It’s all about perceived value. When customers believe they’re getting something special, the actual cost to you matters a lot less.
Start by rethinking what “value” means:
- Bundle instead of slash. Pair complementary products and frame them as an exclusive set. That way, the customer saves, you move more inventory, and your average order value goes up.
- Add, don’t subtract. Instead of cutting prices, add a bonus. That could be free shipping over a certain threshold, a free gift with purchase, or early access to a new drop.
- Reward loyalty, not everyone. Your best customers shouldn’t get the same deal as a one-time buyer. Use segmentation to make loyal customers feel recognized while keeping margins tight.
- Create “next time” incentives. Offers like “£10 off your next order” encourage repeat business and keep your revenue compounding over time.
Each of these strategies gives the customer a win without conditioning them to expect permanent discounts. You’re adding perceived value (exclusivity, reward, belonging) instead of subtracting margin.
Final Thoughts
Used strategically, offers are one of the most powerful tools in your marketing arsenal. They grab attention, drive urgency, and give your audience a reason to act now. But when every email leans on a discount, you’re not building a brand, you’re teaching people to wait for one.
That’s where Omnisend comes in. Built for ecommerce founders, Omnisend gives you everything you need to send smarter, not just more.
You can:
- Build and automate your email flows with drag-and-drop ease
- Segment customers based on purchase behavior and engagement
- Test offers, incentives, and timing to see what really moves the needle
- Integrate seamlessly with your store and scale without extra effort
And right now, Foundr readers get 50% off their first 3 months.
Click here and use code FOUNDR50 to start sending emails that sell.
